Geneva Motor Show 2010: New BMW 5 Series World Premiere

Today, in front of a large audience of journalists and not only, BMW has unveiled the new 2011 BMW 5 Series at the Geneva Motor …

Today, in front of a large audience of journalists and not only, BMW has unveiled the new 2011 BMW 5 Series at the Geneva Motor Show. One of the most expected BMWs of the year made its first entrance on the stage during a show that had the EfficientDynamics as its core theme.

Along with the F10 5er sedan, BMW has also unveiled their next hybrid project: 5 Series ActiveHybrid.

As pointed out by BMW, the new 5 Series takes an evolutionary path this time, in contrast to the E60 model considered to feature an advantgarde design. The design lines are elegant, yet sporty, flowing gracefully from front to back with plenty of convex and concave surfaces.

The front-end is less imposing and “in your face” than we’ve seen on the 7 Series or the 5 GT models, a more neutral stance. The smaller kidney grille fits the overall design and the image of a 5 Series sporty luxury sedan.

The headlights share a lot of design cues with the 5 GT and of course, we have the same corona rings. They are slightly modified over the 3 Series units and much smaller than the 5-Series GT. But don’t be confused, they are still quite different compared to the other models. The eyebrow remains an important characteristic in the latest headlights’ design and gives that “mean” look many of us have been craving for.

Moving to the rear of the car, as we mentioned before, we immediately noticed the clear distinction between the new 5 Series and the 3 Series, and even the untrained eye of a non-BMW fan could clearly make the distinction between them.

Inside, luxury at its finest. The new 2011 BMW 5 Series shares lots of design elements with the 7 Series and 5 GT, with similar, but not identical trim options. Sharing parts between these models helps BMW reduce costs while still offering distinctive, yet luxury interior designs in these upscale models.

The F10 5 Series interior is wider, more spacious and more appealing than the previous generation E60. While it has the design quality of the new 7 Series, the 2011 BMW 5 Series brings back the sporty elements as seen in the late 90s E39 models, beginning with the driver oriented dashboard. Compare to the 5 GT which has a similar driver oriented dashboard, the center console in the new 5 Series is also slightly tilted and oriented towards the driver, enhancing that connection between the driver and car.

Several convex/concave surfaces can also be seen on the dashboard, extending through the passenger’s side of the dashboard and flowing into the design line seen on the door. A nice touch by BMW that takes time to discover.

The choices of colors and materials further enhance the impression of personal luxury and the interior’s interplay of lines and surfaces. Special attention has been given to these fine details, one of them is the subtle crease line going across the wood trim on the passenger side. ( More on the interior design in our interview with Marc Girard, Chief Interior Design )